Systems and methods for ct imaging in image-guided radiotherapy

ABSTRACT

A system and method for image-guided radiotherapy are provided. The system may include a treatment assembly and an imaging assembly. The treatment assembly may include a first radiation source configured to deliver a treatment beam. The treatment assembly may have a treatment region relating to an object. The imaging assembly may include a second radiation source and a radiation detector. The second radiation source may be configured to deliver an imaging beam, and the radiation detector may be configured to detect at least a portion of the imaging beam. The imaging assembly may have an imaging region relating to the object. The first radiation source may be rotatable in a first plane, and the second radiation source may be rotatable in a second plane different from the first plane, such that the treatment region and the imaging region at least partially overlap.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of International Application No.PCT/CN2018/072270, filed on Jan. 11, 2018, the contents of which isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods forimage-guided radiotherapy, and more specifically, relates to systems andmethods for computed tomography (CT) imaging in image-guidedradiotherapy.

BACKGROUND

Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) is a tumor treatment technique in whichthree-dimensional (3D) or two-dimensional (2D) volumetric imaging (or2D/3D imaging with time) can be used to localize a target tumor and/ortumor motion. In some IGRT applications, an object (e.g., a patient)subjected to the IGRT may need to be moved between the imaging (e.g.,computed tomography [CT] imaging) position and the treatment position.The imaging operation and treatment operation may be complicated andprone to error due to, e.g., table sagging, real time change or motionof internal organs including and in the vicinity of a treatment target,or the like, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is desirable to providesystems and methods for imaging of an object at the treatment positionduring a treatment process.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a system for image-guidedradiotherapy may include a treatment assembly and an imaging assembly.The treatment assembly may include a first radiation source configuredto deliver a treatment beam. The treatment assembly may have a treatmentregion relating to an object. The imaging assembly may include a secondradiation source and a radiation detector. The second radiation sourcemay be configured to deliver an imaging beam, and the radiation detectormay be configured to detect at least a portion of the imaging beam. Theimaging assembly may have an imaging region relating to the object. Thefirst radiation source may be rotatable in a first plane, and the secondradiation source may be rotatable in a second plane different from thefirst plane, such that the treatment region and the imaging region atleast partially overlap.

In some embodiments, the treatment beam may pass through an isocenter ofthe imaging assembly.

In some embodiments, the treatment beam and the imaging beam mayintersect at the isocenter of the imaging assembly.

In some embodiments, the system may further include a first gantrysupporting the first radiation source, and a second gantry supportingthe second radiation source and the radiation detector.

In some embodiments, the first radiation source may be located outsideof a bore defined by the first gantry.

In some embodiments, the system may further include an arm mounted onthe first gantry, the first radiation source being mounted on the arm.

In some embodiments, the first radiation source may be located within abore defined by the first gantry.

In some embodiments, the first radiation source may be mounted on aninner side of the first gantry.

In some embodiments, a rotation plane of the first gantry and a rotationplane of the second gantry may be parallel.

In some embodiments, a rotation plane of the second gantry may be tiltedwith respect to a rotation plane of the first gantry.

In some embodiments, the first gantry and the second gantry may berotatable.

In some embodiments, the first gantry and the second gantry may rotatesynchronously.

In some embodiments, the first gantry may be configured to rotateindependently of the second gantry.

In some embodiments, the system may further include a processing moduleconfigured to reconstruct an image based on the at least portion of theimaging beam detected by the radiation detector.

In some embodiments, the processing module may reconstruct the imagewhen the first radiation source delivers the treatment beam.

In some embodiments, the processing module, based on the reconstructedimage, may cause the first radiation source to deliver an adjustedtreatment beam.

In some embodiments, the processing module, based on the reconstructedimage, may cause a position of the object to be adjusted with respect tothe treatment beam.

In some embodiments, the delivery of the treatment beam and the deliveryof the imaging beam may be simultaneous or alternate.

In some embodiments, the radiation detector may be a flat panel detectoror a computed tomography detector.

In some embodiments, the second plane may be parallel to the firstplane.

In some embodiments, the second plane may be tiled by an angle withrespect to the first plane.

In some embodiments, the angle may be an acute angle.

In some embodiments, the acute angle may range between 0° and 45°.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a system for image-guidedradiotherapy may include a treatment assembly and an imaging assembly.The treatment assembly may include a first radiation source configuredto deliver a treatment beam. The imaging assembly may include a secondradiation source and a radiation detector. The second radiation sourcemay be configured to deliver an imaging beam, and the radiation detectormay be configured to detect at least a portion of the imaging beam. Theimaging beam may form an imaging beam rotation plane during rotation ofthe imaging assembly. The treatment beam may intersect with the imagingbeam rotation plane.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a system for image-guidedradiotherapy may include a treatment assembly and an imaging assembly.The treatment assembly may include a first radiation source configuredto deliver a treatment beam. The treatment beam may form a treatmentbeam rotation surface during rotation of the first radiation source. Theimaging assembly may include a second radiation source and a radiationdetector. The second radiation source may be configured to deliver animaging beam, and the radiation detector may be configured to detect atleast a portion of the imaging beam. The imaging beam may intersect withthe treatment beam rotation surface.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a system for image-guidedradiotherapy may include a treatment assembly and an imaging assembly.The treatment assembly may include a first radiation source configuredto deliver a treatment beam. The treatment beam may form a treatmentbeam rotation surface during rotation of the first radiation source. Theimaging assembly may include a second radiation source and a radiationdetector. The second radiation source may be configured to deliver animaging beam, and the radiation detector may be configured to detect atleast a portion of the imaging beam. The imaging beam may form animaging beam rotation plane during rotation of the imaging assembly. Theimaging beam rotation plane may intersect with the treatment beamrotation surface such that a portion of a subject is irradiated by theimaging beam and the treatment beam.

In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a method for image-guidedradiotherapy may include one or more of the following operations. Afirst image of an object may be obtained. A region of interest in thefirst image may be determined. The object may be positioned in aradiotherapy system including a treatment assembly and an imagingassembly. An imaging beam may be delivered, by the imaging assembly, tothe object. At least a portion of the imaging beam may be detected, bythe imaging assembly, to generate an imaging dataset.

A second image including the region of interest may be generated basedon the imaging dataset. The treatment beam may be delivered, by thetreatment assembly and based on the second image, toward a targetportion of the object. The target portion of the object may correspondto the region of interest. The treatment beam and the imaging beam maybe substantially in different planes.

In some embodiments, the delivering a treatment beam and the deliveringan imaging beam may be simultaneous or alternate.

In some embodiments, the delivering the treatment beam toward the targetportion may include one or more of the following operations. A movementor change of the target portion may be detected based on the secondimage. The delivery of the treatment beam may be revised based on thedetected movement or change of the target portion.

In some embodiments, the revising the delivery of the treatment beam mayinclude at least one of pausing the delivery, resuming the delivery, orterminating the delivery.

In some embodiments, a notification may be further generated based onthe detected movement or change of the region of interest.

In some embodiments, the treatment beam may intersect with an imagingbeam rotation plane defined by the imaging beam.

In some embodiments, the treatment beam may pass through an isocenter ofthe imaging assembly.

In some embodiments, the treatment beam and the imaging beam mayintersect at the isocenter of the imaging assembly.

In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a system for image-guidedradiotherapy may include a treatment assembly and an imaging assembly.The treatment assembly may include a first radiation source configuredto deliver a treatment beam. The imaging assembly may include a secondradiation source and a radiation detector. The second radiation sourcemay be configured to deliver an imaging beam, and the radiation detectormay be configured to detect at least a portion of the imaging beam. Thefirst radiation source may be configured to rotate about a rotation axisof the treatment assembly, defining a plane. The treatment beam may betilted with respect to the plane such that the treatment beam passes animaging region of the imaging assembly. In some embodiments, thetreatment beam may pass an isocenter of the imaging assembly. Theisocenter of the imaging assembly may be located within the imagingregion. Additional features will be set forth in part in the descriptionwhich follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in theart upon examination of the following and the accompanying drawings ormay be learned by production or operation of the examples. The featuresof the present disclosure may be realized and attained by practice oruse of various aspects of the methodologies, instrumentalities andcombinations set forth in the detailed examples discussed below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is further described in terms of exemplaryembodiments. These exemplary embodiments are described in detail withreference to the drawings. These embodiments are non-limiting exemplaryembodiments, in which like reference numerals represent similarstructures throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary radiation systemaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware and/orsoftware components of an exemplary computing device on which theprocessing device may be implemented according to some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware and/orsoftware components of an exemplary mobile device on which the terminalmay be implemented according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary image-guidedtreatment device according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary processing deviceaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating the section view of anexemplary image-guided treatment device according to some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram illustrating rotation planes and beamrotation planes according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram illustrating the section view of anexemplary image-guided treatment device according to some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram illustrating rotation planes and beamrotation planes according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process/method forimage-guided radiotherapy according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe relevant disclosure. However, it should be apparent to those skilledin the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, systems,components, and/or circuitry have been described at a relativelyhigh-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuringaspects of the present disclosure. Various modifications to thedisclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to otherembodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limitedto the embodiments shown, but to be accorded the widest scope consistentwith the claims.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise,”“comprises,” and/or “comprising,” “include,” “includes,” and/or“including,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that the term “system,” “engine,” “unit,”“module,” and/or “block” used herein are one method to distinguishdifferent components, elements, parts, section or assembly of differentlevel in ascending order. However, the terms may be displaced by anotherexpression if they achieve the same purpose.

Generally, the word “module,” “unit,” or “block,” as used herein, refersto logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection ofsoftware instructions. A module, a unit, or a block described herein maybe implemented as software and/or hardware and may be stored in any typeof non-transitory computer-readable medium or another storage device. Insome embodiments, a software module/unit/block may be compiled andlinked into an executable program. It will be appreciated that softwaremodules can be callable from other modules/units/blocks or themselves,and/or may be invoked in response to detected events or interrupts.Software modules/units/blocks configured for execution on computingdevices (e.g., processor 210 as illustrated in FIG. 2) may be providedon a computer-readable medium, such as a compact disc, a digital videodisc, a flash drive, a magnetic disc, or any other tangible medium, oras a digital download (and can be originally stored in a compressed orinstallable format that needs installation, decompression, or decryptionprior to execution). Such software code may be stored, partially orfully, on a storage device of the executing computing device, forexecution by the computing device. Software instructions may be embeddedin firmware, such as an EPROM. It will be further appreciated thathardware modules/units/blocks may be included in connected logiccomponents, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or can be included ofprogrammable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. Themodules/units/blocks or computing device functionality described hereinmay be implemented as software modules/units/blocks but may berepresented in hardware or firmware. In general, themodules/units/blocks described herein refer to logicalmodules/units/blocks that may be combined with othermodules/units/blocks or divided into sub-modules/sub-units/sub-blocksdespite their physical organization or storage. The description mayapply to a system, an engine, or a portion thereof.

It will be understood that when a unit, engine, module or block isreferred to as being “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to,” anotherunit, engine, module, or block, it may be directly on, connected orcoupled to, or communicate with the other unit, engine, module, orblock, or an intervening unit, engine, module, or block may be present,unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present disclosure,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, may become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description with reference to the accompanying drawings, allof which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be expresslyunderstood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration and description only and are not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure. It is understood that the drawings arenot to scale.

The flowcharts used in the present disclosure illustrate operations thatsystems implement according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It is to be expressly understood, the operations of theflowcharts may be implemented not in order. Conversely, the operationsmay be implemented in inverted order, or simultaneously. Moreover, oneor more other operations may be added to the flowcharts. One or moreoperations may be removed from the flowcharts.

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to systems and methods forimaging an object during radiotherapy. With the image-guidedradiotherapy device disclosed in the present disclosure, the object maynot need to be moved between the imaging position and the treatmentposition.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary radiation system100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Theradiation system 100 may include an image-guided treatment apparatus110, a network 120, one or more terminals 130, a processing device 140,and a storage device 150.

The image-guided treatment apparatus 110 may deliver radiation toward anobject (e.g., a patient or a portion thereof) based on an image of theobject. A source of the radiation may emit one or more radiation raysincluding, for example, X-rays, α-rays, β-rays, γ-rays, etc. In someembodiments, the image of the object may be generated by an imagingdevice such as a computed tomography (CT) device, a magnetic resonanceimaging (MRI) device, a positron emission tomography (PET) device, asingle photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) device, or the like,or any combination thereof. For illustration purposes, the followingdescriptions are provided with reference to a CT device as the imagingdevice or assembly. It is understood that it is not intended to limitthe scope of the present disclosure. Other imaging devices may beincorporated into the image-guided treatment apparatus 110.

The image of the object may be used to determine and/or track thelocation of a target region of the object. In some embodiments, thetarget region may be a portion of the object, for example, a head, abreast, a lung, an abdomen, a large intestine, a small intestine, abladder, a gallbladder, a pancreas, a prostate, a uterus, an ovary, aliver, or the like, or a portion thereof, or any combination thereof. Inthe present disclosure, “object” and “subject” are used interchangeably.In some embodiments, the target region may include an abnormal tissue,for example, a tumor, a polyp, etc. In some embodiments, the radiationrays may be delivered toward the target region for radiotherapy based onthe determined or tracked location of the target region. In someembodiments, the radiation rays for radiotherapy may be also referred toas treatment beams.

In some embodiments, the image-guided treatment apparatus 110 mayinclude a treatment assembly (e.g., a treatment radiation source 116, agantry 111, an accelerator not shown in FIG. 1), an imaging assembly(e.g., one or more radiation ray emitters 115, one or more radiation raydetectors 112, etc.), and an auxiliary assembly (e.g., a table 114, abase 117). The base 117 may be configured to support the gantry 111. Thegantry 111 may be configured to support the treatment radiation source116, the accelerator, the radiation ray emitters 115, the radiation raydetectors 112, etc. An object may be placed on the table 114 fortreatment and/or imaging. In some embodiments, the gantry 111 may definea bore 113 to accommodate at least a portion of the table 114 and/or theobject. More descriptions of the image-guided treatment apparatus 110may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., FIG. 4 and thedescription thereof).

The network 120 may include any suitable network that can facilitate theexchange of information and/or data for the radiation system 100. Insome embodiments, one or more components of the radiation system 100(e.g., the image-guided treatment apparatus 110, the terminal(s) 130,the processing device 140, or the storage device 150) may communicateinformation and/or data with one or more other components of theradiation system 100 via the network 120. For example, the processingdevice 140 may obtain data corresponding to radiation signals from theimage-guided treatment apparatus 110 via the network 120. As anotherexample, the processing device 140 may obtain user instructions from theterminal(s) 130 via the network 120. In some embodiments, the network120 may be any type of wired or wireless network, or a combinationthereof. The network 120 may be and/or include a public network (e.g.,the Internet), a private network (e.g., a local area network (LAN), awide area network (WAN)), etc.), a wired network (e.g., an Ethernetnetwork), a wireless network (e.g., an 802.11 network, a Wi-Fi network,etc.), a cellular network (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), aframe relay network, a virtual private network (“VPN”), a satellitenetwork, a telephone network, routers, hubs, switches, server computers,and/or any combination thereof. Merely by way of example, the network120 may include a cable network, a wireline network, a fiber-opticnetwork, a telecommunications network, an intranet, a wireless localarea network (WLAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a publictelephone switched network (PSTN), a Bluetooth™ network, a ZigBee™network, a near field communication (NFC) network, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the network 120 may includeone or more network access points. For example, the network 120 mayinclude wired and/or wireless network access points such as basestations and/or internet exchange points through which one or morecomponents of the radiation system 100 may be connected to the network120 to exchange data and/or information.

The terminal 130 may include a mobile device 131, a tablet computer 132,a laptop computer 133, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the mobile device 131 may include a smart home device, awearable device, a smart mobile device, a virtual reality device, anaugmented reality device, or the like, or any combination thereof. Insome embodiments, the smart home device may include a smart lightingdevice, a control device of an intelligent electrical apparatus, a smartmonitoring device, a smart television, a smart video camera, aninterphone, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the wearable device may include a smart bracelet, smartfootgear, a pair of smart glasses, a smart helmet, a smart watch, smartclothing, a smart backpack, a smart accessory, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the smart mobile device mayinclude a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a gamingdevice, a navigation device, a point of sale (POS) device, or the like,or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the virtual realitydevice and/or the augmented reality device may include a virtual realityhelmet, a virtual reality glass, a virtual reality patch, an augmentedreality helmet, an augmented reality glass, an augmented reality patch,or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, the virtualreality device and/or the augmented reality device may include a GoogleGlass, an Oculus Rift, a Hololens, a Gear VR, etc. In some embodiments,the terminal(s) 130 may remotely operate the image-guided treatmentapparatus 110. In some embodiments, the terminal(s) 130 may operate theimage-guided treatment apparatus 110 via a wireless connection. In someembodiments, the terminal(s) 130 may receive information and/orinstructions inputted by a user, and send the received informationand/or instructions to the image-guided treatment apparatus 110 or tothe processing device 140 via the network 120. In some embodiments, theterminal(s) 130 may receive data and/or information from the processingdevice 140. In some embodiments, the terminal(s) 130 may be part of theprocessing device 140. In some embodiments, the terminal(s) 130 may beomitted.

The processing device 140 may process data and/or information obtainedfrom the image-guided treatment apparatus 110, the terminal(s) 130,and/or the storage device 150. For example, the processing device 140may process data corresponding to radiation signals of one or moredetectors obtained from the image-guided treatment apparatus 110 andreconstruct an image of the object. In some embodiments, thereconstructed image may be transmitted to the terminal(s) 130 anddisplayed on one or more display devices in the terminal(s) 130. In someembodiments, the processing device 140 may be a single server, or aserver group. The server group may be centralized, or distributed. Insome embodiments, the processing device 140 may be local or remote. Forexample, the processing device 140 may access information and/or datastored in the image-guided treatment apparatus 110, the terminal(s) 130,and/or the storage device 150 via the network 120. As another example,the processing device 140 may be directly connected to the image-guidedtreatment apparatus 110, the terminal(s) 130, and/or the storage device150 to access stored information and/or data. As a further example, theprocessing device 140 may be integrated in the image-guided treatmentapparatus 110. In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may beimplemented on a cloud platform. Merely by way of example, the cloudplatform may include a private cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, acommunity cloud, a distributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, orthe like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, theprocessing device 140 may be implemented on a computing device 200having one or more components illustrated in FIG. 2 in the presentdisclosure.

The storage device 150 may store data and/or instructions. In someembodiments, the storage device 150 may store data obtained from theterminal(s) 130 and/or the processing device 140. In some embodiments,the storage device 150 may store data and/or instructions that theprocessing device 140 may execute or use to perform exemplary methodsdescribed in the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the storagedevice 150 may include a mass storage device, a removable storagedevice, a volatile read-and-write memory, a read-only memory (ROM), orthe like, or any combination thereof. Exemplary mass storage may includea magnetic disk, an optical disk, a solid-state drive, etc. Exemplaryremovable storage may include a flash drive, a floppy disk, an opticaldisk, a memory card, a zip disk, a magnetic tape, etc. Exemplaryvolatile read-and-write memory may include a random access memory (RAM).Exemplary RAM may include a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a double date ratesynchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristorRAM (T-RAM), and a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc. Exemplary ROM mayinclude a mask ROM (MROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasableprogrammable ROM (PEROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), and a digital versatile disk ROM,etc. In some embodiments, the storage device 150 may be implemented on acloud platform. Merely by way of example, the cloud platform may includea private cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, adistributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or anycombination thereof.

In some embodiments, the storage device 150 may be connected to thenetwork 120 to communicate with one or more components of the radiationsystem 100 (e.g., the processing device 140, the terminal(s) 130, etc.).One or more components of the radiation system 100 may access the dataor instructions stored in the storage device 150 via the network 120. Insome embodiments, the storage device 150 may be directly connected to orcommunicate with one or more components of the radiation system 100(e.g., the processing device 140, the terminal(s) 130, etc.). In someembodiments, the storage device 150 may be part of the processing device140.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware and/orsoftware components of an exemplary computing device 200 on which theprocessing device 140 may be implemented according to some embodimentsof the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the computingdevice 200 may include a processor 210, a storage 220, an input/output(I/O) 230, and a communication port 240.

The processor 210 may execute computer instructions (program code) andperform functions of the processing device 140 in accordance withtechniques described herein. The computer instructions may include, forexample, routines, programs, objects, components, signals, datastructures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform particularfunctions described herein. For example, the processor 210 may processdata obtained from the image-guided treatment apparatus 110, theterminal(s) 130, the storage device 150, and/or any other component ofthe radiation system 100. Specifically, the processor 210 may processone or more measured data sets obtained from the image-guided treatmentapparatus 110. For example, the processor 210 may performone-dimensional (1D) correction or two-dimensional (2D) correction forthe measured data set(s). The processor 210 may reconstruct an imagebased on the corrected data set(s). In some embodiments, thereconstructed image may be stored in the storage device 150, the storage220, etc. In some embodiments, the reconstructed image may be displayedon a display device by the I/O 230. In some embodiments, the processor210 may perform instructions obtained from the terminal(s) 130. In someembodiments, the processor 210 may include one or more hardwareprocessors, such as a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a reducedinstruction set computer (RISC), an application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), an application-specific instruction-set processor(ASIP), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), a physics processing unit (PPU), a microcontroller unit, adigital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA),an advanced RISC machine (ARM), a programmable logic device (PLD), anycircuit or processor capable of executing one or more functions, or thelike, or any combinations thereof.

Merely for illustration, only one processor is described in thecomputing device 200. However, it should be noted that the computingdevice 200 in the present disclosure may also include multipleprocessors, thus operations and/or method steps that are performed byone processor as described in the present disclosure may also be jointlyor separately performed by the multiple processors. For example, if inthe present disclosure the processor of the computing device 200executes both process A and process B, it should be understood thatprocess A and process B may also be performed by two or more differentprocessors jointly or separately in the computing device 200 (e.g., afirst processor executes process A and a second processor executesprocess B, or the first and second processors jointly execute processesA and B).

The storage 220 may store data/information obtained from theimage-guided treatment apparatus 110, the terminal 130, the storagedevice 150, or any other component of the radiation system 100. In someembodiments, the storage 220 may include a mass storage device, aremovable storage device, a volatile read-and-write memory, a read-onlymemory (ROM), or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, themass storage may include a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a solid-statedrive, etc. The removable storage may include a flash drive, a floppydisk, an optical disk, a memory card, a zip disk, a magnetic tape, etc.The volatile read-and-write memory may include a random access memory(RAM). The RAM may include a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a double date ratesynchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristorRAM (T-RAM), and a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc. The ROM may includea mask ROM (MROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmableROM (PEROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), acompact disk ROM (CD-ROM), and a digital versatile disk ROM, etc. Insome embodiments, the storage 220 may store one or more programs and/orinstructions to perform exemplary methods described in the presentdisclosure. For example, the storage 220 may store a program for theprocessing device 140 for reducing or removing one or more artifacts inan image.

The I/O 230 may input or output signals, data, and/or information. Insome embodiments, the I/O 230 may enable a user interaction with theprocessing device 140. In some embodiments, the I/O 230 may include aninput device and an output device. Exemplary input devices may include akeyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, a microphone, or the like, or acombination thereof. Exemplary output devices may include a displaydevice, a loudspeaker, a printer, a projector, or the like, or acombination thereof. Exemplary display devices may include a liquidcrystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED)-based display, aflat panel display, a curved screen, a television device, a cathode raytube (CRT), or the like, or a combination thereof.

The communication port 240 may be connected to a network (e.g., thenetwork 120) to facilitate data communications. The communication port240 may establish connections between the processing device 140 and theimage-guided treatment apparatus 110, the terminal 130, or the storagedevice 150. The connection may be a wired connection, a wirelessconnection, or combination of both that enables data transmission andreception. The wired connection may include an electrical cable, anoptical cable, a telephone wire, or the like, or any combinationthereof. The wireless connection may include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMax,WLAN, ZigBee, mobile network (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.), or the like, or acombination thereof. In some embodiments, the communication port 240 maybe a standardized communication port, such as RS232, RS485, etc. In someembodiments, the communication port 240 may be a specially designedcommunication port. For example, the communication port 240 may bedesigned in accordance with the digital imaging and communications inmedicine (DICOM) protocol.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware and/orsoftware components of an exemplary mobile device 300 according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 3, themobile device 300 may include a communication platform 310, a display320, a graphic processing unit (GPU) 330, a central processing unit(CPU) 340, an I/O 350, a memory 360, and a storage 390. In someembodiments, any other suitable component, including but not limited toa system bus or a controller (not shown), may also be included in themobile device 300. In some embodiments, a mobile operating system 370(e.g., iOS, Android, Windows Phone, etc.) and one or more applications380 may be loaded into the memory 360 from the storage 390 in order tobe executed by the CPU 340. The applications 380 may include a browseror any other suitable mobile apps for receiving and renderinginformation relating to image processing or other information from theprocessing device 140. User interactions with the information stream maybe achieved via the I/O 350 and provided to the processing device 140and/or other components of the radiation system 100 via the network 120.

To implement various modules, units, and their functionalities describedin the present disclosure, computer hardware platforms may be used asthe hardware platform(s) for one or more of the elements describedherein. The hardware elements, operating systems and programminglanguages of such computers are conventional in nature, and it ispresumed that those skilled in the art are adequately familiar therewithto adapt those technologies to generate an image with reduced Nyquistghost artifact as described herein. A computer with user interfaceelements may be used to implement a personal computer (PC) or other typeof work station or terminal device, although a computer may also act asa server if appropriately programmed. It is believed that those skilledin the art are familiar with the structure, programming and generaloperation of such computer equipment and as a result the drawings shouldbe self-explanatory.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary image-guidedtreatment apparatus 110 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The image-guided treatment apparatus 110 may include atreatment beam generation assembly 402, an imaging assembly 406 and anauxiliary assembly 410.

The treatment beam generation assembly 402 may be configured to delivera treatment beam toward a target portion of an object (e.g., a patient).In some embodiments, the target portion may need to be subjected toradiotherapy. In some embodiments, the radiotherapy may be delivered inthe form of a treatment beam. In some embodiments, the target portionmay be a cell mass, a tissue, an organ (e.g., a prostate, a lung, abrain, a spine, a liver, a pancreas, a breast, etc.), or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the target portion may be a tumor, anorgan with a tumor, or a tissue with a tumor. The treatment beam mayinclude a particle beam, a photon beam, or the like, or any combinationthereof. The particle beam may include a stream of neutrons, protons,electrons, heavy ions, or the like, or any combination thereof. Thephoton beam may include an X-ray beam, a γ-ray beam, an α-ray beam, aβ-ray beam, an ultraviolet beam, an ultrasound beam (e.g., a highintensity focused ultrasound beam), a laser beam, or the like, or anycombination thereof. The shape of the X-ray beam may be a line, a narrowpencil, a narrow fan, a fan, a cone, a wedge, or the like, or anycombination thereof. The energy level of the treatment beam may besuitable for radiotherapy. For example, an X-ray beam delivered by thetreatment beam generation assembly 402 may have an energy of megavoltage(MV) level. Merely by way of example, the energy of the X-ray beam maybe 6 MV. It should be noted that in some embodiments, one or morethermal techniques may be used to treat the target portion, and thetreatment may also be image-guided.

The treatment beam generation assembly 402 may deliver the treatmentbeam to the target portion based on a real-time location of the targetportion despite that the target portion is in motion. In someembodiments, the treatment beam generation assembly 402 may determinethe delivery of the treatment beam to the target portion according to apredetermined treatment plan. The predetermined treatment plan mayinclude a radiation dose, a radiation rate (the amount of radiationdelivered per unit time), a radiation time, or the like, or anycombination thereof. For example, the treatment beam generation assembly402 may start the delivery of the treatment beam to the target portionwhen the location of the target portion is conformed to thepredetermined treatment plan. In some embodiments, the treatment beamgeneration assembly 402 may determine the delivery of the treatment beamto the target portion according to a real-time location of the targetportion. During the treatment, the motion of the target portion may betracked and the real-time location of the target portion may bedetermined by the imaging assembly 406.

In some embodiments, the treatment beam generation assembly 402 may havea treatment region. As used herein, the treatment region may refer to aregion that may be irradiated by the treatment beam emitted by thetreatment beam generation assembly 402. In some embodiments, the targetportion of the object may be positioned in the treatment region fortreatment.

In some embodiments, the treatment beam generation assembly 402 mayinclude a first radiation source, and/or a radiation source support. Thefirst radiation source may be configured to deliver the treatment beamto the target portion. In some embodiments, the first radiation sourcemay include a linear accelerator (linac) configured to generate thetreatment beam. The radiation source support may be configured tosupport the first radiation source. In some embodiments, the firstradiation source may be mounted on the radiation source support. In someembodiments, the first radiation source may be rotatable through itsmounting on the radiation source support. In some embodiments, theradiation source support may include a first gantry and/or an arm oneend of which is attached to the first gantry, and the first radiationsource may be rotatable through its mounting on the first gantry and/orthe arm. For example, the radiation source support may include arotatable first gantry made of steel, or any other suitable material.The first radiation source may be mounted on (e.g., fixedly mounted on)the first gantry. As another example, the radiation source support mayinclude a rotatable first gantry and an arm. The arm may be mounted on(e.g., fixedly mounted on) the first gantry via one end thereof or forman integral part of the first gantry (e.g., an integral part of thecover of the first gantry), and the first radiation source may bemounted on (fixedly mounted on) the arm.

In some embodiments, the treatment beam generation assembly 402 (e.g.,the first radiation source and/or the support assembly on which it ismounted) may rotate about the rotation axis of the treatment beamgeneration assembly 402. The rotation of the treatment beam generationassembly 402 (e.g., a certain point of the treatment beam generationassembly 402) about the rotation axis of the treatment beam generationassembly 402 may define a rotation plane of the treatment beamgeneration assembly 402 (or referred to as a first axial rotationplane). When the treatment beam generation assembly 402 rotates aboutthe rotation axis of the treatment beam generation assembly 402, acenter ray of the treatment beam of the treatment beam generationassembly 402 may rotate about the rotation axis accordingly. Therotation of the center ray of the treatment beam of the treatment beamgeneration assembly 402 may form a plane that may be called a treatmentbeam rotation surface (or referred to as a first beam rotation surface).In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 6B and FIG. 7B, thetreatment beam rotation surface may be a three-dimensional surface(e.g., a conical surface). As used herein, the center ray of thetreatment beam may refer to the ray that passes through the center(e.g., the focus) of the first radiation source. In some embodiments,the center ray of the treatment beam may pass the isocenter of theimaging assembly 406.

The imaging assembly 406 may be configured to perform imaging to, e.g.,generate an image of the target portion, determine a real-time locationof the target portion, and/or track the motion of the target portionduring a radiotherapy operation performed by the treatment beamgeneration assembly 402. In some embodiments, the location of the targetportion of the object may change with time due to various motions, forexample, cardiac motion (and its effect on other organs), respiratorymotion (of the lungs and/or the diaphragm, and its effect on otherorgans), blood flow and motion induced by vascular pulsation, musclescontracting and relaxing, secretory activity of the pancreas, or thelike, or any combination thereof. The location of the target portion maybe monitored based on an image (e.g., a CT image, a CBCT image, an MRIimage, a PET image, a PET-CT image, etc.) of the object acquired by theimaging assembly 406 before, during, and/or after the radiotherapyoperation.

In some embodiments, the imaging assembly 406 may have an imagingregion. As used herein, the imaging region of the imaging assembly 406may refer to a region that may be irradiated by imaging beam(s) emittedby the imaging assembly 406. The imaging region of the imaging assembly406 may include an isocenter of the imaging assembly. As used herein,the isocenter of the imaging assembly 406 may be defined as the axis ofrotation of the imaging assembly 406, at the point where it intersectsthe plane of rotation.

In some embodiments, the imaging assembly 406 may include at least oneradiation source 461 and at least one radiation detector 462. Theradiation source 461 (or referred to as a second radiation source) maybe configured to deliver an imaging beam to the object. The imaging beammay include a particle beam, a photon beam, or the like, or anycombination thereof. The particle beam may include a stream of neutrons,protons, electrons, heavy ions, or the like, or any combination thereof.The photon beam may include an X-ray beam, a γ-ray beam, an α-ray beam,a β-ray beam, an ultraviolet beam, a laser beam, or the like, or anycombination thereof. The shape of the X-ray beam may be a line, a narrowpencil, a narrow fan, a fan, a cone, a wedge, a tetrahedron, or thelike, or any combination thereof. For example, the radiation source maybe a CBCT radiation source and the imaging beam may be a cone beam. Theenergy level of the imaging beam may be suitable for imaging. In someembodiments, the energy level of the imaging beam may be different fromthat of the treatment beam generated by the treatment beam generationassembly 402. For example, an X-ray beam delivered by the radiationsource 461 may have an energy of a kilovoltage (kV) level. Merely by wayof example, the energy of the X-ray beam may be 90 kVp. In someembodiments, X-rays delivered by two or more radiation sources 461 mayhave different energy levels.

The radiation detector 462 may be configured to detect at least aportion of the imaging beam emitted from the radiation source 461 togenerate imaging data (e.g., projection data). The imaging data may betransmitted to the processing device 140 for further processing. Theprocessing device 140 may reconstruct an image of the object or aportion thereof based on the imaging data. The location of the targetportion of the object may be determined based on the image.

In some embodiments, the radiation detector 462 may include one or moredetector units. A detector unit may include a scintillator detector(e.g., a cesium iodide detector, a gadolinium oxysulfide detector), agas detector, etc. In some embodiments, the detector units may bearranged in a single row, two rows, or any other number of rows. Merelyby way of example, the radiation detector 462 may be a CT detectorconfigured to detect X-rays. The shape of the radiation detector 462 maybe flat, arc-shaped, circular, or the like, or any combination thereof.For example, the radiation detector 462 may be a flat panel detector. Insome embodiments, the radiation source 461 may deliver dual energyX-rays, and accordingly, the imaging data generated by the radiationdetector 462 may be amenable to processing with one or more operationssuitable for tomosynthesis imaging. In some embodiments, a dual layerdetector, or photon counting detector, may be employed to obtain energyinformation from the impinging X-ray beam.

In some embodiments, the imaging assembly 406 may include a supportassembly. The support assembly may be configured to support theradiation source 461 and/or the radiation detector 462. In someembodiments, the support assembly may include a second gantry. In someembodiments, the radiation source 461 (and/or the radiation detector462) may be mounted on the support assembly, and the radiation source461 (and/or the radiation detector 462) may be rotatable through itsmounting on the support assembly. For example, the support assembly mayinclude a rotatable second gantry, and the radiation source 461 (and/orthe radiation detector 462) may be mounted on (e.g., fixedly mounted on)the second gantry.

In some embodiments, the imaging assembly 406 (e.g., the radiationsource 461 and/or the radiation detector 462, or the support assembly onwhich they are mounted) may rotate about the rotation axis of theimaging assembly 406 or the isocenter of the imaging assembly 406. Therotation of the imaging assembly 406 (e.g., a certain point of theimaging assembly 406) about the rotation axis may define a rotationplane of the imaging assembly 406 (or referred to as a second axialrotation plane). During the rotation of the imaging assembly 406 aroundthe rotation axis, the center ray of the imaging beam of the imagingassembly 406 may rotate about the rotation axis accordingly. Therotation of the center ray of the imaging beam around the rotation axismay form an imaging beam rotation plane (or referred to as a second beamrotation plane). As used herein, the center ray of the imaging beam mayrefer to the ray that passes through the center of the radiation source461. In some embodiments, the center ray of the imaging beam may passthrough the center of the radiation detector 462.

As illustrated, the first gantry of the treatment beam generationassembly 402 and the second gantry of the imaging assembly 406 may berotatable. In some embodiments, the rotation of the first gantry may beindependent of the rotation of the second gantry. For example, the firstgantry and the second gantry may rotate driven by independent drivingforces, e.g., from two different motors. In some embodiments, the firstgantry and the second gantry may rotate synchronously. For example, therotation of the first gantry and the second gantry may be synchronizedmechanically or electronically. In some embodiments, the first gantrymay rotate at a same rotation speed as the second gantry. Merely by wayof example, at least a portion of the first gantry may be connected to(e.g., fixed to) at least a portion of the second gantry, resulting thatthe first gantry and the second gantry rotate synchronously, at a samespeed. In some embodiments, the connection between the first gantry andthe second gantry may be realized by way of overlapping, mortise,occlusion, engagement, or the like. In some embodiments, the firstgantry may rotate at a different rotation speed than the second gantry.For instance, the first gantry may rotate at a lower rotation speed thanthe second gantry. In some embodiments, the different rotation speed maybe realized by driving the rotation of the first gantry and the rotationof the second gantry by independent driving forces, e.g., from twodifferent motors. In some embodiments, the different rotation speed maybe realized by driving the rotation of the first gantry and the rotationof the second gantry using one motor and a gear box. The gear box may beconfigured to provide one or more ratios of rotation speeds between thefirst gantry and the second gantry. For instance, the ratio of therotation speed of the first gantry to the rotation speed of the secondgantry may be 1:1: 1:1.5, 1:2, 1:2.5, etc.

In some embodiments, the first gantry of the treatment beam generationassembly 402 and the second gantry of the imaging assembly 406 may beparallel or non-parallel to each other. The first gantry and/or thesecond gantry may be rotatable. The first gantry and/or the secondgantry may have a corresponding rotation axis (or rotation plane). Asused herein, the first gantry may be said to be parallel to the secondgantry when the rotation axis (or rotation plane) of the first gantry isparallel to that of the second assembly, and vice versa. In someembodiments, when the first gantry and the second gantry are parallel toeach other, the first gantry and the second gantry may share a samerotation axis (or rotation plane). In some embodiments, when the firstgantry and the second gantry are parallel to each other, a rotationplane of the treatment beam generation assembly 402 and a rotation planeof the imaging assembly 406 may be co-planar or be in different planesthat are parallel to each other. In some embodiments, the treatment beamgeneration assembly 402 and the imaging assembly 406 may be positionedsuch that the second beam rotation plane intersects with the first beamrotation surface such that the treatment region and the imaging regionat least partially overlap. See, e.g., FIGS. 6A and 6B and thedescription thereof.

The spatial arrangement of the first gantry and the second gantry may bevarious. In some embodiments, the first gantry and the second gantry maybe placed side by side. In some embodiments, the first gantry and thesecond gantry at least partially overlap. In some embodiments, thediameter of the second gantry may be smaller than the diameter of thefirst gantry, and at least part of the second gantry may be locatedwithin the bore of the first gantry. See, FIGS. 6 and 7 and thedescription thereof. In some embodiments, a portion of the first gantryand/or a portion of the second gantry may be connected to avoid adisplacement there between that may occur during the treatment orimaging process. In some embodiments, the connection between the firstgantry and/or the second gantry may be realized by way of overlapping,mortise, occlusion, engagement, or the like.

In some embodiments, the bore of the first gantry (or referred to as afirst bore) and the bore of the second gantry (or referred to as asecond bore) may at least partially overlap. The bore(s) may beconfigured to receive an object to be subjected to radiation in theradiation system 100. In some embodiments, the two bores may share aconcentric axis.

In some embodiments, the treatment beam generation assembly 402 (e.g.,the first radiation source) and the imaging assembly 406 (e.g., theradiation source 461 and/or the radiation detector 462) may beconfigured such that the second axial rotation plane is tilted by anangle with respect to the first axial rotation plane. Merely by way ofexample, the angle may be an acute angle that ranges between 0° and 45°.In some embodiments, the treatment beam generation assembly 402 and theimaging assembly 406 may be positioned such that the treatment regionand the imaging region at least partially overlap. In some embodiments,the imaging beam may intersect with the first beam rotation surface. Insome embodiments, the treatment beam may intersect with the second beamrotation plane. In some embodiments, the treatment beam generationassembly 402 and the imaging assembly 406 may be positioned such thatthe treatment region and the imaging region at least partially overlap.See, e.g., FIGS. 7A and 7B and the description thereof.

In some embodiments, the treatment beam generation assembly 402 and theimaging assembly 406 may be positioned such that the treatment beamemitted by the treatment beam generation assembly 402 passes the imagingregion of the imaging assembly 406. In some embodiments, the treatmentbeam generation assembly 402 and the imaging assembly 406 may bepositioned such that the treatment beam is tilted with respect to thefirst axial rotation plane and passes an isocenter of the imagingassembly 406. Detailed description of the treatment beam generationassembly 402 and the imaging assembly 406 may be found elsewhere in thepresent disclosure. See, e.g., FIGS. 6 and 7 and the descriptionsthereof.

The auxiliary assembly 410 may be configured to facilitate operations ofthe treatment beam generation assembly 402 and/or the imaging assembly406. In some embodiments, the auxiliary assembly 410 may include acooling assembly (not shown), a table 114 (as shown in FIG. 1), a base117 (as shown in FIG. 1), etc. The cooling assembly may be configured toproduce, transfer, deliver, channel, or circulate a cooling medium tothe image-guided treatment apparatus 110 to absorb heat produced by theimage-guided treatment apparatus 110 (e.g., the radiation detector 462)during an imaging procedure and/or radiotherapy operation. The table 114may be configured to support and/or transport the object (e.g., apatient) to be imaged and/or undergo radiotherapy. The base 117 may beconfigured to support the treatment beam generation assembly 402 and/orthe imaging assembly 406. For example, the base 117 may support one ormore gantries on which the treatment beam generation assembly 402 and/orthe imaging assembly 406 may be mounted.

It should be noted that the above description of the image-guidedtreatment apparatus 110 is merely provided for the purposes ofillustration, and not intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art, multiplevariations and modifications may be made under the teachings of thepresent disclosure. However, those variations and modifications do notdepart from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, theimage-guided treatment apparatus 110 may include one or more storagedevices. As another example, the image-guided treatment apparatus 110may include a single gantry configured to support the treatment beamgeneration assembly 402 and the imaging assembly 406. As anotherexample, the image-guided treatment apparatus 110 may further include adetection assembly configured to detect and/or receive signals (e.g.,X-ray treatment beams) emitted from the treatment beam generationassembly 402 (e.g., the first radiation source of the treatment beamgeneration assembly 402).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary processing device140 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Theprocessing device 140 may include an acquisition module 502, a controlmodule 504, a processing module 506, and a storage module 508. At leasta portion of the processing device 140 may be implemented on a computingdevice as illustrated in FIG. 2 or a mobile device as illustrated inFIG. 3.

The acquisition module 502 may acquire imaging data. In someembodiments, the acquisition module 502 may acquire the imaging data(e.g., CT imaging data) from the image-guided treatment apparatus 110,the terminal 130, the storage device 150, and/or an external data source(not shown). In some embodiments, the imaging data may include raw data(e.g., projection data). For example, the imaging data (e.g., projectiondata) may be generated based on detected imaging beams at least some ofwhich have passed through an object being imaged and treated in theimage-guided treatment apparatus 110. In some embodiments, theacquisition module 502 may acquire one or more instructions forprocessing the imaging data. The instructions may be executed by theprocessor(s) of the processing device 140 to perform exemplary methodsdescribed in this disclosure. In some embodiments, the acquired imagingdata may be transmitted to the storage module 508 to be stored.

The control module 504 may control operations of the acquisition module502, the storage module 508, the processing module 506 (e.g., bygenerating one or more control parameters), the image-guided treatmentapparatus 110, or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, thecontrol module 504 may cause the acquisition module 502 to acquireimaging data, the timing of the acquisition of the imaging data, etc. Asanother example, the control module 504 may cause the processing module506 to process imaging data acquired by the acquisition module 502. Insome embodiments, the control module 504 may control the operation ofthe image-guided treatment apparatus 110. For example, the controlmodule 504 may cause the image-guided treatment apparatus 110 (e.g., thetreatment beam generation assembly 402) to start, pause, stop, and/orresume the delivery of the imaging beam and/or the treatment beam to theobject. As another example, the control module 504 may cause theimage-guided treatment apparatus 110 to adjust the radiation dose of theimaging beam or treatment beam to the object.

The processing module 506 may process information provided by variousmodules of the processing device 140. The processing module 506 mayprocess imaging data acquired by the acquisition module 502, imagingdata retrieved from the storage module 508 and/or the storage device150, etc. In some embodiments, the processing module 506 may reconstructone or more images based on the imaging data according to areconstruction technique. The reconstruction technique may include aniterative reconstruction algorithm (e.g., a statistical reconstructionalgorithm), a Fourier slice theorem algorithm, a filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm, a fan-beam reconstruction algorithm, ananalytic reconstruction algorithm, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the processing module 506 may performpre-processing on the imaging data before the reconstruction. Thepre-processing may include, for example, imaging data normalization,imaging data smoothing, imaging data suppressing, imaging data encoding(or decoding), denoising, etc.

In some embodiments, the processing module 506 may analyze one or moreimages to determine and/or identify a region of interest (ROI) relatingto the object based on an image segmentation algorithm. In someembodiments, the processing module 506 may assess and/or monitor thechange of the identified ROI relating to the object. The imagesegmentation algorithm may include a threshold algorithm, a regiongrowing algorithm, an algorithm based on an energy function, a level setalgorithm, a region segmentation and/or merging, an edge trackingsegmentation algorithm, a statistical pattern recognition algorithm, amean clustering segmentation algorithm, a model algorithm, asegmentation algorithm based on a deformable model, an artificial neuralnetworks algorithm, a minimum path segmentation algorithm, a trackingalgorithm, a segmentation algorithm based on a rule, a coupling surfacesegmentation algorithm, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the processing module 506 may reconstruct one or moreimages based on one or more imaging datasets generated at differenttimes in a radiotherapy operation. In some embodiments, based on one ormore reconstructed images of an object including a target portion, theprocessing module 506 may determine a movement or change of the targetportion.

In some embodiments, the processing module 506 may determine, based onthe images and the analysis thereof, whether any change or adjustment isneeded with respect to the treatment plan, and/or determine the neededadjustment. Based on the determined adjustment, the control module 504may cause the adjustment to be implemented. For instance, the controlmodule 504 may cause the image-guided treatment apparatus 110 to deliveran adjusted treatment beam or cause a position of the object to beadjusted. For example, the processing module 506 may transmit the motioninformation of the target portion to the control module 504. The controlmodule 504 may accordingly control the image-guided treatment apparatus110 to adjust the delivery of the treatment beam by for example, pausingthe delivery and/or changing the position of the source of the treatmentbeam. As another example, the control module 504 may accordingly controlthe image-guided treatment apparatus 110 to adjust the position of theobject with respect to the treatment beam.

In some embodiments, the delivery of a treatment plan may be monitoredand/or adjusted real time. For instance, based on the imaging data theimaging assembly 406 and/or the acquisition module 502 acquires (e.g.,real time), the processing module 506 may automatically generate and/oranalyze images to monitor the location of the target portion of theobject, and/or assess the change of the location of the target portion,on the basis of which the processing module 506 may determine how toproceed further with the treatment plan (e.g., to continue theradiotherapy as planned, to continue the radiotherapy with a revisedplan, or to terminate the radiotherapy, etc.). The processing module 506may determine the location of the target portion based on the generatedimage(s). In some embodiments, the monitoring, assessment, and/oradjustment may be performed semi-automatically with the input of a user.For instance, based on the imaging data the imaging assembly 406 and/orthe acquisition module 502 acquires (e.g., real time), the processingmodule 506 may generate one or more images and send them to be presentedon a terminal 130 (e.g., a display) so that the user may analyze theimages and provide an instruction as to how to proceed further with thetreatment plan (e.g., to continue the radiotherapy as planned, tocontinue the radiotherapy with a revised plan, or to terminate theradiotherapy, etc.). As another example, based on the imaging data theimaging assembly 406 and/or the acquisition module 502 acquires (e.g.,real time), the processing module 506 may generate one or more images.The processing module 506 may first analyze the images and determine ifany change occurs in the target region and how much the change is. Theprocessing module 506 may determine accordingly if any adjustment in thetreatment plan is needed. If the change of the target region or theadjustment needed in the treatment plan is within a threshold, theprocessing module 506 may determine the adjustment automatically andsend it to, e.g., the control module 504, to be implemented. In someembodiments, a notification may be generated when the processing module506 makes such a determination. If the change of the target region orthe adjustment needed in the treatment plan is within a threshold, theprocessing module 506 may generate a notification to, e.g., the user(e.g., the doctor) to seek instructions from the user as to how toproceed further.

The storage module 508 may store imaging data, control parameters,processed imaging data, or the like, or a combination thereof. In someembodiments, the storage module 508 may store one or more programsand/or instructions that may be executed by the processor(s) of theprocessing device 140 to perform exemplary methods described in thisdisclosure. For example, the storage module 508 may store program(s)and/or instruction(s) that can be executed by the processor(s) of theprocessing device 140 to acquire imaging data of an object, reconstructone or more images based on the imaging data, determine an ROI in theimage(s), detect a movement or change of a target portion of the objectbased on the image(s), revise the delivery of the treatment beam to thetarget portion, and/or adjust the position of the object relative to thetreatment beam based on the detected movement or change of the targetportion.

In some embodiments, one or more modules illustrated in FIG. 5 may beimplemented in at least part of the radiation system 100 as illustratedin FIG. 1. For example, the acquisition module 502, the control module504, the processing module 506, and/or the storage module 508 may beimplemented via the processing device 140 and/or the terminal 130. Viathe terminal 130, a user may set parameters for scanning a subject,controlling imaging processes, adjusting parameters for reconstructingan image, etc.

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating the section view in a Y-Zplane of an exemplary image-guided treatment apparatus 110 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. In the present disclosure,the Z axis direction may be from the right side to the left side of theimage-guided treatment apparatus 110, as shown in FIGS. 1, 6A, 6B, 7A,and 7B. The Y axis direction may be from the upper part to the lowerpart of the image-guided treatment apparatus 110, as shown in FIGS. 1,6A, 6B, 7A, and 7B. The X axis direction may be from the front side tothe rear side of the image-guided treatment apparatus 110 along the axisof the bore, as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6B is a schematic diagramillustrating rotation planes and beam rotation planes according to someembodiments of the present disclosure.

The image-guided treatment apparatus 110 may include a first gantry 630,a second gantry 640, an arm 610, a first radiation source 620 coupled toone end of the arm 610, a second radiation source 641, a radiationdetector 642 opposing the radiation source, a table 650 and a base atleast supporting the first gantry 630 (not shown). Both of the firstgantry 630 and the second gantry 640 are ring-shaped. The other end ofthe arm 610 may be mounted on the first gantry 630. The second gantry640 may support the second radiation source 641 and the radiationdetector 642. The second gantry 640 may be directly mounted on the base,or may be supported by the first gantry 630. The second gantry 640 mayserve as a stator, and the second radiation source 641 and the radiationdetector 642 may serve as a rotor mounted on the second gantry 640 (thestator) in rotation. In some embodiments, the second gantry 640 mayserve as a rotor on which the second radiation source 641 and theradiation detector 642 may be fixedly connected. When the second gantry640 serves as the rotor, the coupling between the second gantry 640 andthe base or the connection between the second gantry 640 and the firstgantry 630 may be rotatable. The table 650 may be configured to supportand/or transport the object (e.g., a patient) to be imaged and/orundergo radiotherapy.

The rotation plane of the first gantry 630 and the rotation plane of thesecond gantry 640 may be parallel to each other. In some embodiments, asshown in FIG. 6A, the diameter of the second gantry may be smaller thanthe diameter of the hole defined by the first gantry. At least a portionof the second gantry 640 may be located within the first gantry 630.Specifically, the first gantry 630 may include a first bore. The secondgantry 640 may include a second bore. At least a portion of the secondgantry may be located within the first bore. In some embodiments, thefirst bore and the second bore may share a same rotation axis 601 asshown in FIG. 6B. In some embodiments, the first bore and/or the secondbore may be configured to receive an object (e.g., a patient) to besubjected to radiation (e.g., radiation of treatment beams, radiation ofimaging beams) in the radiation system 100.

In some embodiments, the first gantry and the second gantry may berotatable. In some embodiments, the rotation of the first gantry may beindependent of the rotation of the second gantry. For example, the firstgantry may rotate with a rotation speed lower than that of the secondgantry. In some embodiments, the first gantry (or the first radiationsource 620), and/or the second gantry (or the second radiation source641, and/or the detector 642) may rotate synchronously. See, e.g.,relevant description in FIG. 4.

The first gantry 630 may support the first radiation source 620. Forexample, as illustrated, the first radiation source 620 may be mountedon an inner side of the first gantry 630. In some other embodiments, thefirst radiation source 620 may be mounted on a side of the first gantry630. The first radiation source 620 may be configured to deliver atreatment beam (e.g., X-ray beam) to a target portion of an object. Insome embodiments, the treatment beam may cover a treatment region of theradiation system 100. The treatment region may be located in a centerregion of the first gantry 630. The first radiation source 620 mayrotate about the rotation axis 601 of the first gantry 630. The rotationof the first radiation source 620 about the rotation axis 601 of thefirst gantry 630 may define the first axial rotation plane 602. When thefirst radiation source 620 rotates about the rotation axis 601, thecenter ray of the treatment beam may rotate about the rotation axis 601accordingly, defining a first beam rotation surface 605 (or referred toas the treatment beam rotation surface).. As illustrated in FIG. 6A, thefirst axial rotation plane 602 is in the vertical plane, and the firstbeam rotation surface 605 is a conical surface. The illustrativetreatment beam (e.g., the center ray of the treatment beam) is tilted byan angle A with respect to the first axial rotation plane 602 during therotation of the first gantry. In some embodiments, the angle A may be anacute angle, e.g., between 0° and 60°. For example, the angle A may be30°, 40°, 50°, or 60°.

In some embodiments, the first radiation source 620 may tilt so that theangle of the treatment beam with respect to the rotation axis of thefirst gantry 630 (or the angle of the first beam (or treatment beam)with respect to the first axial rotation plane) may be adjusted. Inorder to adjust the orientation of the treatment beam, in someembodiments, the arm may be arranged to be extendable/retractable withrespect to the first gantry; in some embodiments, the first radiationsource 620 may be arranged to be movable, and/or tilt-able with respectto the arm; and in some embodiments, the arrangement may include acombination of the above-mentioned.

The second radiation source 641 may be configured to deliver an imagingbeam (e.g., X-ray beam). In some embodiments, the imaging beam may coveran imaging region of the radiation system 100. In some embodiments, thesecond radiation source 641 may deliver the imaging beam when the firstradiation source 620 delivers the treatment beam. That is, the treatmentbeam and the first imaging beam may be delivered simultaneously. In someembodiments, the delivery of the first imaging beam and the delivery ofthe treatment beam may alternate.

The radiation detector 642 may be configured to detect at least aportion of the imaging beam. In some embodiments, the radiation detector642 may be a flat panel detector or a computed tomography detector. Theshape of the radiation detector may be flat, arc-shaped, circular, orthe like, or any combination thereof. Merely by way of example, theradiation detector may be a CT detector configured to detect X-raybeams. In some embodiments, the second radiation source 641 and theradiation detector 642 may form an imaging assembly having an imagingregion of the radiation system 100. In some embodiments, the imagingassembly formed by the second radiation source 641 and the radiationdetector 642 may have an isocenter. In some embodiments, the isocenterof the imaging assembly may coincide with the isocenter of the treatmentbeam generation assembly, i.e. the point 660. In some embodiments, thetreatment beam may pass the isocenter 660 of the imaging assembly formedby the second radiation source and the first radiation detector.

In some embodiments, the second radiation source 641 may be mounted onan inner side of the second gantry 640. The second radiation source 641may be moveable along the inner side of the second gantry 640. Forexample, the second radiation source 641 may be rotatably and/ortranslationaly moveable. In some embodiments, the second radiationsource 641 may be rotatable about the isocenter of the second gantry640. In some embodiments, the radiation detector 642 may be mounted onan inner side of the second gantry 640. The radiation detector 642 maybe moveable along the inner side of the second gantry 640. For example,the radiation detector 642 may be rotatable and/or translationalmoveable. In some embodiments, the radiation detector 642 may berotatable about the isocenter of the second gantry 640. In someembodiments, the imaging beam may include diagnostic X-rays, and thesecond radiation source 641 may include a diagnostic X-ray tube.

In some embodiments, the second radiation source 641 (or the radiationdetector 642) may rotate about the rotation axis of the second gantry640 or the isocenter 660 of the second gantry 640. The rotation of thesecond radiation source 641 (or the radiation detector 642) about therotation axis of the second gantry 640 may define the second axialrotation plane. During the rotation of the second radiation source 641(or the radiation detector 642), the center ray of the imaging beam mayrotate about the rotation axis accordingly, defining a second beamrotation plane (or referred to as the imaging beam rotation plane). Asillustrated in FIG. 6B, the second axial rotation plane and the secondbeam rotation plane may be in the same plane 604, the second axialrotation plane (and/or the second beam rotation plane) is in thevertical plane.

In some embodiments, the first radiation source 620 and the secondradiation source 641 may be positioned such that the treatment regionand the first imaging region may at least partially overlap. In someembodiments, the imaging beam may intersect with the first beam rotationsurface 605. In some embodiments, the treatment beam may intersect withthe second beam rotation plane 604. In some embodiments, the treatmentregion and the imaging region at least partially overlap. In someembodiments, the treatment beam is tilted with respect to the firstaxial rotation plane 602 such that the treatment beam passes anisocenter of the imaging assembly 406 formed by the second radiationsource 641 and the radiation detector 642. In some embodiments, thetreatment beam is tilted by an angle with respect to the first axialrotation plane 602. The angle may be an acute angle which ranges, e.g.,between 0° and 60°. In the present embodiment as shown in FIGS. 6A and6B, the treatment beam intersects with the second beam rotation plane604 (imaging beam rotation plane) defined by the imaging beam. And/or,the imaging beam intersects with the first beam rotation surface 605(treatment beam rotation surface) defined by the treatment beam.Moreover, the treatment beam (or the imaging beam) is not within thesame plane with the imaging beam rotation plane 604 (or the treatmentbeam rotation surface). And/or the first beam rotation surface 605 andthe second beam rotation plane 604 are in different planes.

It should be noted that the above description of the image-guidedtreatment apparatus 110 is merely provided for the purposes ofillustration, and not intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art, multiplevariations or modifications may be made under the teachings of thepresent disclosure. For example, the image-guided treatment apparatus110 in FIG. 6A may further include one or more components, such as oneor more connecting pieces to connect the first gantry 630 and the secondgantry 640. As another example, the number of the radiation sourcesand/or the radiation detectors mounted on the first gantry 630 and/orthe second gantry 640 is not limiting.

FIG. 7A a schematic diagram illustrating the section view in a Y-Z planeof an exemplary image-guided treatment apparatus 110 according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7B is a schematic diagramillustrating axial rotation planes and beam rotation planes according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the image-guided treatment apparatus 110 mayinclude a first gantry 730, a second gantry 740, a first radiationsource 720, a second radiation source 741, a detector 742 opposing thesecond radiation source 741, a table 750, and a base at least supportingthe first gantry 730 (not shown). Both of the first gantry 730 and thesecond gantry 740 are ring-shaped. The second gantry 740 may be directlymounted on the base, or may be supported by the first gantry 730. Thesecond gantry 740 may serve as a stator, and the second radiation source741 and the radiation detector 742 may serve as a rotor mounted on saidstator in rotation. In some embodiments, the second gantry 740 may serveas a rotor on which the second radiation source 741 and the radiationdetector 742 may be fixedly connected. When the second gantry 740 mayserve as the rotor, the coupling between the second gantry 740 and thebase or the connection between the second gantry 740 and the firstgantry 730 may be rotatable. The table 750 may be configured to supportand/or transport the object (e.g., a patient) to be imaged and/orundergo radiotherapy.

The first gantry 730 may support the first radiation source 720. Thesecond gantry 740 may support the second radiation source 741 and thedetector 742. The rotation plane of the first gantry 730 and therotation plane of the second gantry 740 may be non-parallel to eachother. In some embodiments, the rotation plane of the second gantry 740may be tilted by an acute angle with respect to the rotation plane ofthe first gantry 730. The acute angle may range between, for example, 0°and 45°.

The first radiation source 720 may be configured to deliver a treatmentbeam to an object (e.g., a patient) accommodated in a bore of the firstgantry 730. The first gantry 730 may have a treatment region relating tothe object. The second radiation source 741 and the radiation detector742 may be respectively positioned at two different sides of the secondgantry 740. The second gantry 740 may be directly mounted on the base insome embodiments, or may be supported by the first gantry 720 in theother embodiment. In some embodiments, the second gantry 740 may serveas a stator, and the second radiation source 741 and the radiationdetector 742 may serve as a rotor rotatable with respect to said stator.In the other embodiment, the second gantry 740 may serve as a rotor onwhich the second radiation source 741 and the radiation detector 742 areequipped. The second radiation source 741 may deliver an imaging beam(e.g., X-ray beam) to the object in a substantially diagonal directionwith respect to the vertical plane toward the radiation detector 742.The radiation detector 742 may be configured to detect at least aportion of the imaging beam. The second radiation source 741 and theradiation detector 742 may form an imaging assembly having an imagingregion. The imaging assembly may have an isocenter. In some embodiments,the isocenter of the imaging assembly may coincide with the isocenter ofthe treatment beam generation assembly, that is, the point 760.

The first radiation source 720 and the second radiation source 741 maybe rotatable. In some embodiments, the rotation of the first radiationsource 720 may be independent of the second radiation source 741. Insome embodiments, the first radiation source 720 and the secondradiation source 741 may rotate synchronously, at same or differentspeeds. More description regarding the rotation of the first radiationsource and the second radiation source may be found elsewhere in thepresent disclosure. See, e.g., FIG. 4 and the description thereof.

The first radiation source 720 may be rotatable about the rotation axis701 of the first gantry 730. The rotation of the first radiation source720 about the rotation axis 701 of the first gantry 730 may define afirst axial rotation plane 702. As illustrated in FIG. 7B, the firstaxial rotation plane 702 is in the vertical plane. During the rotationof the first radiation source 720, the center ray of the treatment beammay rotate about the rotation axis 701 accordingly, defining a firstbeam rotation surface 705 (or referred to as a treatment beam rotationsurface). The first beam rotation surface 705 is a conical surface. Theillustrative treatment beam (e.g., the center ray of the treatment beam)may be tilted generally by an angle B with respect to the first axialrotation plane 702. In some embodiments, the angle B may be an acuteangle, e.g., between 0° and 60°. For example, the angle B may be 30°,40°, 50°, or 60°. During the rotation of the first radiation source 720,at least a portion of the treatment beam emitted by the first radiationsource may pass the isocenter 760 of the second gantry 740. The secondradiation source 741 (or the radiation detector 742) may be rotatableabout the rotation axis 707 of the second gantry 740 and/or theisocenter 760 of the second gantry 740. The rotation of the secondradiation source 741 (or the radiation detector 742) about the rotationaxis 707 of the second gantry 740 may define a second axial rotationplane. The rotation of the center ray of the imaging beam about theisocenter 760 of the second gantry 740 may define a second beam rotationplane 704. FIG. 7B only illustrates a small portion of the second beamrotation plane 704. The second axial rotation plane and the second beamrotation plane may be in the same plane 704. As illustrated in FIG. 7B,the second axial rotation plane 704 (and/or the second beam rotationplane 704) may be at an oblique angle with the vertical plane. In someembodiments, the angle may be an acute angle, e.g., between 0° and 45°.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 7A, the first radiation source 720and the second radiation source 741 may be configured such that thetreatment region and the first imaging region may at least partiallyoverlap. In some embodiments, the imaging beam may intersect with thefirst beam rotation surface 705. In some embodiments, the treatment beammay intersect with the second beam rotation plane 704. In someembodiments, the treatment beam emitted by the first radiation source720 may pass the imaging region of the imaging assembly formed by thesecond radiation source 741 and the radiation detector 742. In someembodiments, the treatment region and the imaging region at leastpartially overlap. In some embodiments, the treatment beam is tiltedwith respect to the first axial rotation plane 702 such that thetreatment beam passes an isocenter 760 of the imaging assembly formed bythe second radiation source 741 and the radiation detector 742. In someembodiments, the treatment beam is tilted by an angle with respect tothe first axial rotation plane 702. The angle may be an acute anglewhich ranges, e.g., between 0° and 60°. In the present embodiment asshown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the treatment beam intersects with the secondbeam rotation plane 704 (imaging beam plane) defined by the imagingbeam. And/or, the imaging beam intersects with the first beam rotationsurface 705 (treatment beam rotation surface) defined by the treatmentbeam. Moreover, the treatment beam (or the imaging beam) is not withinthe same plane with the imaging beam rotation plane 704 (or thetreatment beam rotation surface). And/or the first beam rotation surface705 and the second beam rotation plane 704 are the different planes.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 800 forimage-guided radiotherapy according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The process 800 may be executed by the radiation system 100.For example, the process 800 may be stored in the storage device 150and/or the storage 220 as a form of instructions (e.g., an application),and invoked and/or executed by the processing device 150 (e.g., theprocessor 210 illustrated in FIG. 2, or one or more modules in theprocessing device 140 illustrated in FIG. 5). In some embodiments, oneor more operations of the process 800 may be performed with manualintervention. The operations of the illustrated process presented beloware intended to be illustrative. In some embodiments, the process 800may be accomplished with one or more additional operations notdescribed, and/or without one or more of the operations discussed.Additionally, the order in which the operations of the process 800 asillustrated in FIG. 8 and described below is not intended to belimiting.

In 801, the processing device 140 (e.g., the acquisition module 502) mayobtain a first image of an object. In some embodiments, the processingdevice 140 may obtain the first image from a storage device, forexample, the storage device 150, or an external storage source (notshown). The first image may be generated using an imaging system. Insome embodiments, the imaging system may be a computed tomography (CT)system. In some embodiments, the first image may be generated by animaging assembly of the image-guided treatment apparatus 110. In someembodiments, the first image may be a two-dimensional (2D) image, athree-dimensional (3D) image, a four-dimensional (4D) image, etc. Insome embodiments, the first image may be a planning image (e.g., aplanning CT image) or a previously determined 3D or 4D image. The objectmay include a substance, a tissue, an organ, a specimen, a body, or thelike, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the object mayinclude a patient or a part thereof (e.g., a head, a breast, an abdomen,etc.). In some embodiments, the first image may be obtained based on oneor more instructions or manipulations of an operator (e.g., a doctor).For example, the first image may be obtained based on one or moreimaging parameters input or selected by the operator.

In 803, the processing device 140 (e.g., the processing module 506) maydetermine a region of interest (ROI) in the first image. The ROI mayrefer to a part of the object in the first image. In some embodiments,the ROI may be a region of cancerous and/or non-cancerous target whichneeds to be treated by the radiation system 100. The ROI may include acell, a tissue, an organ (e.g., a prostate, a lung, a brain, a spine, aliver, a pancreas, a breast, etc.), or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the ROI may be a tumor, an organ with tumor, or a tissuewith tumor. In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may determinethe ROI in the first image based on an image segmentation algorithm. Theimage segmentation algorithm may include a threshold algorithm, a regiongrowing algorithm, an algorithm based on an energy function, a level setalgorithm, a region segmentation and/or merging, an edge trackingsegmentation algorithm, a statistical pattern recognition algorithm, amean clustering segmentation algorithm, a model algorithm, asegmentation algorithm based on a deformable model, an artificial neuralnetworks method, a minimum path segmentation algorithm, a trackingalgorithm, a segmentation algorithm based on a rule, a coupling surfacesegmentation algorithm, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the ROI may be determined based on one or more instructionsor manipulations of an operator (e.g., a doctor). For example, the ROImay be selected or edited by the operator.

In 805, the processing device 140 may position the object in a radiationsystem. The radiation system may include a treatment beam generationassembly and an imaging assembly (e.g., the radiation system 100 shownin FIG. 1). The first image may include information related to thelocation of the ROI. In some embodiments, the object may be positionedin a bore of the image-guided treatment apparatus 110 to receiveradiation based on the information related to the location of the ROI.In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may determine a positionrelationship between the ROI in the first image and a treatment beam inthe radiation system. In some embodiments, the processing device 140(e.g., the control module 504) may position the object in the radiationsystem based on the position relationship, so that the object may bepositioned in a treatment region of the radiation system. In someembodiments, the object may be positioned based on one or moreinstructions or manipulations of an operator (e.g., a doctor). Forexample, the position of the object may be adjusted by the operatorbefore, during, and/or after the processing device 140 positions theobject.

In some embodiments, the radiation system may include the image-guidedtreatment apparatus 110. The image-guided treatment apparatus 110 mayinclude a treatment beam generation assembly and an imaging assembly.The treatment beam generation assembly may include a first radiationsource in a first gantry. The imaging assembly may include a secondradiation source and a radiation detector in a second gantry. Therotation plane of the first gantry and the rotation plane of the secondgantry may be parallel or non-parallel to each other.

In 807, the imaging assembly (e.g., the second radiation source in thesecond gantry) may deliver an imaging beam (e.g., X-ray beam) to theobject. In some embodiments, the imaging beam may be delivered based onone or more instructions or manipulations of an operator (e.g., adoctor). For example, the X-ray energy of the imaging beam may be set bythe operator.

In 809, the imaging assembly (e.g., the radiation detector in the secondgantry) may detect at least a portion of the imaging beam to generate animaging dataset. In some embodiments, the imaging dataset may includeraw data such as projection data. In some embodiments, the secondradiation source in the second gantry may deliver the imaging beamtoward the radiation detector in a substantially diagonal direction. Theradiation detector may detect at least a portion of the imaging beam togenerate the imaging dataset.

In 811, the processing device 140 (e.g., the processing module 506) maygenerate, based on the imaging dataset, a second image associated withthe object (e.g., the ROI, or a reference portion of the object). Thereference portion may be a surrogate region (e.g., a diaphragm), so thata target portion (e.g., a lung, a liver, a stomach, etc.) to be treatedby radiation may be addressed and located in the treatment region of theradiation system 100. In some embodiments, the processing device 140 mayreconstruct the second image based on the imaging dataset according to areconstruction algorithm. The reconstruction algorithm may include aniterative reconstruction algorithm (e.g., a statistical reconstructionalgorithm), a Fourier slice theorem algorithm, a filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm, a fan-beam reconstruction algorithm, ananalytic reconstruction algorithm, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the second image may include the ROI. Insome embodiments, the second image may include a surrogate region (e.g.,a diaphragm) instead of the ROI. In some embodiments, the second imagemay be generated based on one or more instructions or manipulations ofan operator (e.g., a doctor). For example, one or more reconstructionparameters may be set by the operator.

In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may reconstruct an imagebased on the imaging dataset(s) acquired by imaging assemblies asillustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, in combination with additional imagingdataset by another imaging assembly of the image-guided treatmentapparatus 110, or by another CT device. For instance, such additionalimaging dataset may be acquired by a further imaging assembly of theimage-guided treatment apparatus 110. The further imaging assembly maybe formed by a radiation source and a radiation detector located in thesame gantry (e.g, the second gantry) in which the imaging beam passesthrough the isocenter thereof.

In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may augment or supplementat least a portion of the imaging dataset based on data derived from oneor more reference images including, for example, a planning CT and/or apreviously determined 3D or 4D image (e.g., the first image). Merely byway of example, the processing device 140 may analyze or determine whatdata are missing based on a trajectory of the imaging assembly; theprocessing device 140 may determine corresponding data in the referenceimage(s) that can be used to augment the missing data; and theprocessing device 140 may insert the corresponding data to supplementthe missing data. In some embodiments, in the data augmentationoperation, the processing device 140 may use one or more tomographicconsistency conditions derived from the first image, so that the imagequality of the second image may be improved.

In 813, the treatment beam generation assembly (e.g., the firstradiation source) may deliver, based on the second image, a treatmentbeam toward a target portion of the object. The target portion of theobject may correspond to the ROI in the second image. The treatment beamand the imaging beam are in different planes. The second image mayinclude information related to the ROI or the reference portion, such asthe location of the ROI, the location of the reference portion. Thetreatment beam generation assembly may deliver the treatment beam towardthe target portion of the object that conforms to the location of theROI. In some embodiments, the processing device 140 may detect amovement or change of the target portion of the object based on thesecond image. The processing device 140 may revise the delivery of thetreatment beam or the position of the object. For example, theprocessing device 140 may pause the delivery of the treatment beam, andthen adjust the radiation source (e.g., the first radiation source) ofthe treatment beam generation assembly to target at the location of themoved or changed target portion of the object. As another example, theprocessing device 140 may pause the delivery of the treatment beam, andthen adjust the position of the target portion of the object withrespect to the treatment beam to make the treatment beam target at thetarget portion. The processing device 140 (e.g., the control module 504)may adjust the position of the object by moving the object in a table(e.g., the table 114) in the bore of the treatment beam generationassembly. After the delivery of the treatment beam or the position ofthe object is adjusted, the treatment beam generation assembly mayresume the delivery of the treatment beam. In some embodiments, whendetecting the movement or change of the target portion, the treatmentbeam generation assembly may terminate the delivery. In someembodiments, the processing device 140 may generate a notification basedon the detected movement or change of the target portion of the object.In some embodiments, the notification may include information of themovement or change of the target portion. The notification may be in aform of text, video, audio, etc.

In some embodiments, the delivery of the treatment beam in 813 and thedelivery of the imaging beam in 807 may be performed simultaneously. Insome embodiments, the delivery of the treatment beam in 813 and thedelivery of the first imaging beam in 807 may be performed alternately.Therefore, the imaging assembly may track the motion of the targetportion of the object while the treatment beam is delivered or from timeto time.

In some embodiments, the generation of the second image in 811 may beunnecessary, and accordingly, the treatment beam may be delivered basedon at least a portion of the imaging dataset (or processed imagingdataset) instead of the second image. Merely by way of example, in 913,the processing device 140 may analyze projection data corresponding toat least a portion of the imaging dataset or processed imaging dataset(e.g., compare the projection data with reference projection data) toinfer the position/trajectory of the ROI (or the target portion of theobject), and deliver the treatment beam based on the position/trajectoryof the ROI.

It should be noted that the above description of the process 800 forradiotherapy is provided for the purposes of illustration, and is notintended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For personshaving ordinary skills in the art, multiple variations and modificationsmay be made under the teachings of the present disclosure. However,those variations and modifications do not depart from the scope of thepresent disclosure. For example, an operation for adjusting the positionof the target portion of the object and/or revising the treatment beammay be added between operations 811 and 813.

Having thus described the basic concepts, it may be rather apparent tothose skilled in the art after reading this detailed disclosure that theforegoing detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way ofexample only and is not limiting. Various alterations, improvements, andmodifications may occur and are intended to those skilled in the art,though not expressly stated herein. These alterations, improvements, andmodifications are intended to be suggested by this disclosure and arewithin the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of thisdisclosure.

Moreover, certain terminology has been used to describe embodiments ofthe present disclosure. For example, the terms “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” and/or “some embodiments” mean that a particular feature,structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or morereferences to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternativeembodiment” in various portions of this specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures or characteristics may be combined assuitable in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Further, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects ofthe present disclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any ofa number of patentable classes or context including any new and usefulprocess, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new anduseful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combiningsoftware and hardware implementation that may all generally be referredto herein as a “unit,” “module,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects ofthe present disclosure may take the form of a computer program productembodied in one or more computer readable media having computer readableprogram code embodied thereon.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including electro-magnetic, optical, or thelike, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signalmedium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computerreadable storage medium and that may communicate, propagate, ortransport a program for use by or in connection with an instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on acomputer readable signal medium may be transmitted using any appropriatemedium, including wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, or thelike, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in a combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB. NET,Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, suchas the “C” programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2103, Perl, COBOL2102, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby andGroovy, or other programming languages. The program code may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as aservice such as a Software as a Service (SaaS).

Furthermore, the recited order of processing elements or sequences, orthe use of numbers, letters, or other designations, therefore, is notintended to limit the claimed processes and methods to any order exceptas may be specified in the claims. Although the above disclosurediscusses through various examples what is currently considered to be avariety of useful embodiments of the disclosure, it is to be understoodthat such detail is solely for that purpose and that the appended claimsare not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, areintended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that arewithin the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments. For example,although the implementation of various components described above may beembodied in a hardware device, it may also be implemented as a softwareonly solution, for example, an installation on an existing server ormobile device.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description ofembodiments of the present disclosure, various features are sometimesgrouped in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for thepurpose of streamlining the disclosure aiding in the understanding ofone or more of the various inventive embodiments. This method ofdisclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intentionthat the claimed subject matter requires more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, inventive embodiments lie inless than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment.

In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities or propertiesused to describe and claim certain embodiments of the application are tobe understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about,”“approximate,” or “substantially.” For example, “about,” “approximate,”or “substantially” may indicate ±20% variation of the value itdescribes, unless otherwise stated. Accordingly, in some embodiments,the numerical parameters set forth in the written description andattached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon thedesired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. Insome embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in lightof the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinaryrounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges andparameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of theapplication are approximations, the numerical values set forth in thespecific examples are reported as precisely as practicable.

Each of the patents, patent applications, publications of patentapplications, and other material, such as articles, books,specifications, publications, documents, things, and/or the like,referenced herein is hereby incorporated herein by this reference in itsentirety for all purposes, excepting any prosecution file historyassociated with same, any of same that is inconsistent with or inconflict with the present document, or any of same that may have alimiting affect as to the broadest scope of the claims now or laterassociated with the present document. By way of example, should there beany inconsistency or conflict between the description, definition,and/or the use of a term associated with any of the incorporatedmaterial and that associated with the present document, the description,definition, and/or the use of the term in the present document shallprevail.

In closing, it is to be understood that the embodiments of theapplication disclosed herein are illustrative of the principles of theembodiments of the application. Other modifications that may be employedmay be within the scope of the application. Thus, by way of example, butnot of limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of theapplication may be utilized in accordance with the teachings herein.Accordingly, embodiments of the present application are not limited tothat precisely as shown and described.

1. A radiation system, comprising: a treatment assembly including afirst radiation source configured to deliver a treatment beam, thetreatment assembly having a treatment region relating to an object; animaging assembly including a second radiation source and a radiationdetector, the second radiation source being configured to deliver animaging beam, and the radiation detector being configured to detect atleast a portion of the imaging beam, the imaging assembly having animaging region relating to the object, wherein the first radiationsource is rotatable in a first plane, the second radiation source isrotatable in a second plane different from the first plane, such thatthe treatment region and the imaging region at least partially overlap.2. The radiation system of claim 1, wherein the treatment beam passesthrough an isocenter of the imaging assembly.
 3. The radiation system ofclaim 2, wherein the treatment beam and the imaging beam intersect atthe isocenter of the imaging assembly.
 4. The radiation system of claim1, further including a first gantry supporting the first radiationsource, and a second gantry supporting the second radiation source andthe radiation detector.
 5. The radiation system of claim 4, wherein thefirst radiation source is located outside of a bore defined by the firstgantry.
 6. The radiation system of claim 5, further including an armmounted on the first gantry, the first radiation source being mounted onthe arm.
 7. The radiation system of claim 4, wherein the first radiationsource is located within a bore defined by the first gantry, the firstradiation source being mounted on an inner side of the first gantry. 8.(canceled)
 9. The radiation system of claim 4, wherein a rotation planeof the first gantry and a rotation plane of the second gantry areparallel.
 10. The radiation system of claim 4, wherein a rotation planeof the second gantry is tilted with respect to a rotation plane of thefirst gantry.
 11. The radiation system of claim 4, wherein the firstgantry and the second gantry are rotatable synchronously.
 12. (canceled)13. The radiation system of claim 4, wherein the first gantry isconfigured to rotate independently of the second gantry.
 14. Theradiation system of claim 1, further comprising: a processing moduleconfigured to reconstruct an image based on the at least portion of theimaging beam detected by the radiation detector when the first radiationsource delivers the treatment beam.
 15. (canceled)
 16. The radiationsystem of claim 15, wherein the processing module, based on thereconstructed image, causes the first radiation source to deliver anadjusted treatment beam.
 17. The radiation system of claim 15, whereinthe processing module, based on the reconstructed image, causes aposition of the object to be adjusted with respect to the treatmentbeam.
 18. The radiation system of claim 1, wherein the delivery of thetreatment beam and the delivery of the imaging beam are simultaneous oralternate.
 19. The radiation system of claim 1, wherein the radiationdetector is a flat panel detector or a computed tomography detector. 20.The radiation system of claim 1, wherein the second plane is parallel tothe first plane.
 21. The radiation system of claim 1, wherein the secondplane is tiled by an angle with respect to the first plane, the anglebeing an acute angle ranging between 0° and 45°. 22-25. (canceled)
 26. Aradiation system, comprising: a treatment assembly including a firstradiation source configured to deliver a treatment beam, wherein thetreatment beam forms a treatment beam rotation surface during rotationof the first radiation source; an imaging assembly including a secondradiation source and a radiation detector, the second radiation sourcebeing configured to deliver an imaging beam, and the radiation detectorbeing configured to detect at least a portion of the imaging beam,wherein the imaging beam forms an imaging beam rotation plane duringrotation of the imaging assembly; wherein the imaging beam rotationplane intersects with the treatment beam rotation surface such that aportion of a subject is irradiated by the imaging beam and the treatmentbeam. 27-34. (canceled)
 35. A radiation system, comprising: a treatmentassembly including a first radiation source configured to deliver atreatment beam; an imaging assembly including a second radiation sourceand a radiation detector, the second radiation source being configuredto deliver an imaging beam, and the radiation detector being configuredto detect at least a portion of the imaging beam, wherein the firstradiation source is configured to rotate about a rotation axis of thetreatment assembly, defining a plane, and the treatment beam is tiltedwith respect to the plane such that the treatment beam passes an imagingregion of the imaging assembly.
 36. (canceled)